New England Patriots Wide Receivers that can Hurt Atlanta Falcons

While Drake Maye gets a lot of the attention for the resurgence of the New England Patriots, they have a few dangerous weapons at receiver.

The Atlanta Falcons will have to deal with some names in the Patriots matchup | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Looking to rebound after consecutive losses, the Atlanta Falcons face one of the better position groups in the New England Patriots' wide receivers. Granted, everyone understands that the quarterback plays an integral role. Drake Maye is gaining traction as one of the better young signal callers in the NFL. 

On the strength of a league-leading 75.2% completion percentage, the second-year starter shows no fear in testing secondaries. The Falcons will have a trio of problems that their defensive backs must deal with at wideout.

Anyway here’s 60 seconds of Drake Maye throwing absolute dimes pic.twitter.com/QoU7Kx2dTH

— Austin Abbott (@AustinAbbottFF) October 27, 2025

Stefon Diggs

The 32-year-old still brings pristine route running, timing, and burgeoning chemistry with Maye. Diggs, while primarily an outside receiver, will also line up in the slot. That lends itself to quicker routes like the slant, dig, and the occasional double move. While Diggs is not a burner, he will use his route acumen to generate separation from corners, as evidenced by his 23 first downs. 

Welcome to the end zone, Stefon Diggs 👏

📺 FOX pic.twitter.com/NdaWpMsKsJ

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) October 26, 2025

Additionally, Maye will want to keep Diggs behind the stick, where he shines. Twenty-three of his catches occur under ten yards. As a result, the Falcons need to remove any cushion and rely on the corner's ability to recover. Diggs will not win vertically, but he still can gain chunk yardage. 

Kayshon Boutte

If Diggs represents the possession wideout, Boutte brings the big play to the field. Granted, he isn't the largest wideout (5-foot-11 and 197 pounds), but his quickness off the line will keep defenders guessing. Boutte's agility allows Maye to wait just a blink longer to throw. In this clip, he uses a double move to meet, discard, and still wins the rep with a third. 

This needs to be the player that AJ Terrell lines up against. On Diggs, it would be a waste of his range. With Boutte knowing the deep ball is coming, Terrell needs to adjust. 

Demario Douglas and Mack Hollins

Rounding is the polar opposite of New England. Douglas is a more diminutive wideout (5'8", 192 pounds) who may love to target as his primary slot receiver. Usually, that signals shorter throws, but Douglas can run away from a defender with a burst, unlike Diggs. Atlanta doesn't need much help over the top, but a physical approach works to disrupt the route. On the other hand, Hollins is the six-foot-four matchup issue.

 He serves as an intermediate threat, using his frame to shield the ball from corners—his speed centers around longer strides that need a chance to build, instead of a quicker burst. The Falcons can afford to gamble with Hollins as he takes a few steps to accelerate. The Patriots will also use him as a blocker to pin the linebacker in on running plays. 

Mack Hollins has been an impressive player throughout his first 7 weeks in Foxborough. #NEPats

The New England Patriots have used him as a situational pass catcher/blocker and on special teams. Players like Hollins are a major reason why the team is 5-2.pic.twitter.com/Vsbe5dcyGh

— Patriots Lead (@Patriots_Lead) October 25, 2025

Overview

The Patriots' receiving corps is underrated. They all run fundamentally crisp routes. Plus, they don't drop too many passes. Credited with only five drops, Atlanta must find a way to get them out of sync. As always, rushing the passer serves as the catalyst, but the secondary needs to fight for every ball and compete on each snap. Can Atlanta stifle New England over four quarters?